Since James Naismith became the the first head coach at Kansas University, the history of basketball, Kansas, and Springfield College have been intertwined.

Naismith, a Springfield College physical education instructor, created the game in 1891, but it was one of his players, Forrest ‘Phog’ Allen, who is considered the ‘father of basketball coaching’ for his success in making Kansas a national powerhouse and for building the game’s popularity.

On Monday, the future torchbearers of Kansas’ proud basketball tradition were on display at Springfield College’s Blake Arena, as Jayhawk commits Kelly Oubre Jr. of Findlay Prep (Nev.) and Cliff Alexander of Curie High School (Ill.) took part in the Spalding Hoophall Classic high school invitational.

Oubre, the No. 12 player in the Rivals 150 ranking for the class of 2014, scored a team-high 23 points to lead Findlay Prep to a 73-44 victory over Wesleyan Christian (N.C.). He earned the game’s most outstanding player award, displaying his impressive athletic ability and versatility.

After his game, Oubre said, “I've got to watch my boy (Alexander) play because I know he is going to kill Montverde. They can’t really handle him--nobody in the country can handle him.”

Alexander, the No. 4 player in the class, then led Curie High to an upset victory over Montverde Academy (Fla.), the No.1 ranked team according to USA Today Sports, with 30 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocks.

“We’ve been waiting on this day since the season started,” Alexander said. “We know that they were the No. 1 team in the country and we came out and beat them. Right now, can’t nobody beat us.”

Alexander scored just six points in the first half, before erupting in the fourth quarter to lead the Condors to a comeback win over the defending National High School Invitational champions. Curie entered the final period trailing by nine points, but the 6-foot-8 center had 13 points in the final 4:30 minutes--including two powerful dunks-- to earn the win.

“I just didn’t want to lose. We came too far to take a loss. That’s what I told my team at halftime,” Alexander said.

Throughout the game, Oubre stood against the guardrail on the track above the court, watching his future teammate and nodding in approval when Alexander put the finishing touches on a superb performance.

“We exchanged numbers when we went on our Kansas visit,” Oubre said. “We both committed, so now we pretty much have to start forming a brotherhood like we will next year, because we are going to be around each other a lot, so why not start now?”

Findlay College Prep's Kelly Oubre Jr., moves the ball upcourt as Wesleyan Christian Schools' Theo Pinson, trys to slow him down in this second quarter play of their game Monday . Photo by Mark Murray

Oubre committed to Kansas just four days after his visit, where he and Alexander received a standing ovation from the fans at “Late Night it the Phog”, the Jayhawks’ version of Midnight Madness.

“I was shocked at all the love the fans showed me, the atmosphere, the tradition, the coaching staff. It was a blessing to be there,” Oubre said. “I got to see everything that everybody was talking about before the visit. Obviously, I had Kansas and Kentucky on my list, but Kansas was my first visit and I was taken away by where I was at, so I made my decision.”

Alexander, who was also being pursued by Michigan State, Memphis, and Illinois among others, committed to the Jayhawks about a month later. Now, Alexander and Oubre are trying convince another elite recruit to team up with them in Lawrence so that they can “win a national championship” according to Alexander.

“We (Oubre and Alexander) talk almost every day. We’re trying to get JaQuan Lyle to commit with us. He’s a good friend of mine,” Alexander said.

Prior to Alexander’s game Monday afternoon, USA basketball announced its 10-man Junior National Select team, which included both Oubre and Alexander. USA Basketball, however, was not the only one impressed with Bill Self’s recruiting class.

Former 1978 All-Big 8 Jayhawk Ken Koenigs took in the games from the bleachers while wearing a Kansas baseball cap. Koenigs was drafted in the fifth round of the 1978 draft, but decided instead to pursue a career as a gastroenterologist. The annual Kansas basketball academic award is named in his honor.

“(Oubre is) very impressive with his overall game,” Koenigs said. “He plays great defense, he can go inside and outside. I’m very excited. He’ll definitely be a Bill Self kind of guy because he likes to play defense.

“I think we’ve definitely kind of jumped into that group of getting that higher echelon player the last couple of years, so that’s always exciting for the fans.”

With Jayhawk freshman sensations Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embid expected to skip out of Lawrence for the NBA following the year, Oubre and Alexander will be relied upon to fill the void. Both players have the potential to be one-and-done players themselves, and lauded Bill Self’s player development as a major reason they chose Kansas.

I’m going to work my butt off to be the best that I can be and if, at the end of the season, my best is being ready for the league, then I’m out,” Oubre said. “But if I’m not, then I have no hesitation staying because I just want to be the best I can be.”

“Bill Self, the way he’s been developing his guys to the pros, like Thomas Robinson, the twins (Marcus and Markeiff Morris), Jo Jo (Joel Embid) --they turned him into a killer right now,” Alexander said.

The chance to play for a program rich in tradition and success, however, made just as big of an impact on the young recruits. Both players made the short trip to the Basketball Hall of Fame during their time in Springfield and were struck by the ties Kansas basketball has to the history of the game.

“James Naismith, ties to the Hall of Fame, the creator of basketball, a lot of tradition going on with Kansas,” Oubre said.

Though Kansas will display Naismith’s 13 original rules of basketball after Kansas donor David Booth purchased them for $4.3 million, the game has evolved dramatically since its inception. NCAA Division I basketball has become a multi-billion dollar industry and simply a stop for many players on the way to the NBA.

Bill Self’s most recent recruiting classes show that, while Kansas’ basketball program is steeped in that history and tradition, the Jayhawks are not stuck in the past.